School meals

I used to send both of mine of to school from primary age up until they were about 13-14 with packed lunches. Invariably they would both come home with them either untouched or picked at. The excuse was often 'I didn't have time' ????
DD even now rarely eats lunch. DGS#1 could eat for England DD is looking forward to the proposed free meals for all.

My nephew virtually lived on beans on toast until he was about eight. He is now a 14st rugby player and father of two.

I had a friend at school in the sixth form who ate only a packet of Cheddars for lunch every day. She was energetic, lively, clever and a good tennis player. Went to uni. Trained as a physiotherapist. Got married. Had kids, etc etc.

My GS's best friend will eat only chicken nuggets. He is definitely on the 'chubby' side.

DD3's children are completely different in their food tastes despite being given the same varied diet since weaning.

DGS eats like a horse, is stick thin and never full. DGD is really fussy, stick thin and never hungry. Yesterday, for lunch, she ate loads of peas and a nibble of meringue from the pavlova. I know DD tries not to worry but not always successfully.

The most ridiculous thing I heard was from a neighbour with a son the same age as Jack. When they were both around 3, every lunchtime this boy seemed to have cheese and crackers. When I mentioned it she said "Ben doesn't like cooked food"!!!!!

Thanks thatbags have to say it has really worried me.

Minibags has been the fussiest eater In The World from the age of two and a half. Now thirteen she is beginning to try foods she refused to eat before. It's a slow process but it's happening. I think her schoolfriends are encouraging her. So take heart, debncreme

My DG3 is very picky with her food. She is 8 and thin. She will only eat things which are dry (ie no gravy) doesn't like tomatoes and if tomato juice goes onto the white bread of a sandwich then the whole thing gets refused. They tried her on school meals with the school controlling what she ate but there were hugely differing reports from child and teacher. She now takes sandwiches and is allowed one small biscuit/cake (as agreed with the school). Still this is returned quite regularly along with the whole meal and my daughter is told: 'we didn't have time to eat up' which knowing the snchool I don't believe.

DG gets hysterical if anyone near her is sick even to the point of phoning me to come and get her when her sister was poorly; she was screamming down the phone. As a family we are not fussy eaters - mostly going the other way - so I worry there is more to this than meets the eye. Sadly her doctor was not helpful just suggesting 'it's part of growing up and she will grow out of it'. My daughter does an amazing job of not being over obsessed, I am sure I could not be the same, thank goodness I don't have to cope.

Sorry this has gone off the subject but reading through sent me 'on a frolic of my own'.

My grandson (8) is as skinny as a stick of spaghetti, plays a huge amount of sport and eats like a horse. He hasn't got a sweet tooth at all and at his school lunches, children who do not want the pudding are allowed a piece of plain bread. The main course is often quite meagre and one day he asked if he could please have 2 pieces of bread as he was still hungry. Oliver Twist moment followed. He was marched off to the Headmaster for cheek.

He is a polite and well mannered boy (DD is very keen on that) and always has been and I am incensed at the stupid rule. If a child is still hungry after the main course and does not like puddings then surely it is not unreasonable to allow them some bread?

School meals are subject to many silly rules and one of them is that a free school meal must include a dessert. Very strange that the school food police did not ditch that one when they came up with all those laws that dictated fried eggs were not a healthy food (you have to call the "griddled" ...) etc etc
This means they have pennies to spend on the food and some of them go on something sugary. Unless you dole out 6 grapes, apple or a banana (is that allowed...I don't know). I think it would be much more sensible if they served a bigger main course. Or soup and a main course.
Desserts are a 20th Century middle class affectation aren't they? What is it about having a dessert that makes it a proper meal? Were any of us the better for being given sago pudding in our youth? Are the youth of the country suffering from sugar deficiency?
When i was growing up we almost never had dessert (until i had school dinners in grammar school). We had a main meal at lunch time and unless my GM felt moved to make a rice pudding, that was that. Sweet stuff was eaten for the tea time meal. Cake. Tinned peaches etc. Bread and jam.
It is FFFing ridiculous to be wasting money on eton mess (loads of sugar and about one strawberry I guess) or chocolate brownies. And telling children off for eating something sugary is hypocritical in the extreme.

Officious is the word that springs to mind, kitty.

Eton Mess is one of your 5 or 7 a day. As was the trifle we had today which had peaches and raspberries in it. And with the sherry (grapes) it made 3 portions of fruit).

Definitely, jings definitely - it's got fruit in!

Makes no sense at all.

But please tell me Eton Mess is a healthy food.